Congressman Dan Kildee first to bring Detroit bankruptcy issue to U.S. House floor

Jul. 24, 2013

Written by

Detroit Free Press Washington Staff

WASHINGTON — Nearly a week after Detroit filed for bankruptcy, U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee became the first member of the state’s congressional delegation to address it on the floor of the U.S. House.

Kildee, D-Flint Township, spoke on the House floor this morning, saying Detroit may be “the recent poster child for municipal decline and insolvency,” but given the finances of urban centers across the nation it should be “a call to action to have a much bigger conversation.”

Specifically, he said, Congress should be looking at how best to fund struggling cities burdened with debt. In the meantime, he said, bankruptcy may help order Detroit’s debts, but it “will not be a soluition for its problems or for any other city” by itself.

Reaction to Detroit’s filing — the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history — has been muted in Washington: The White House said it was monitoring the situation, but did not plan to intervene between creditors and the city; U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, asked the Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing, but no reply has been made public.

Most of the members of Michigan’s congressional delegation have not issued any comments at all on the bankruptcy filing by the state’s largest city.